Folding firearms are desirable because they are convenient to carry and easy to conceal. A variety of firearms have been developed that fold in half about a horizontal pivot axis. An example of a single barrel foldable rifle is the Little Badger Folding Rifle that fires .22LR cartridges manufactured by Chiappa Firearms of Dayton, Ohio. Several foldable submachine guns that fold into substantially rectangular box shapes have been developed, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,621 to Warin, the UC-9 and M-21 folding submachine guns manufactured by Utah Connor and Dave Boatman, the Russian PP-90 and the Ukrainian Goblin, and the FMG-9 manufactured by Magpul Industries of Boulder, Colo. An example of a folding rifle that shoots pistol caliber cartridges (either 9 mm or .40 S&W) is the SUB-2000 manufactured by Kel-Tec of Cocoa, Fla. Several of these firearms have the disadvantage of being class III firearms due to their barrel length or full auto action. Few of these firearms have ever gone into significant production, making them curiosities rather than commercial successes.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved folding firearm that can be folded into an ergonomic, compact shape about a vertical pivot axis. In this regard, the various embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill at least some of these needs. In this respect, the folding firearm according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a firearm that can be folded into an ergonomic, compact shape about a vertical pivot axis.